1984 Review

Castlemaine INDEPENDENT

Castlemaine Theatre Company’s 1984

By Emlyn Johnson

Castlemaine Theatre Company is doing George Orwell’s 1984 at the Phee.

1984 is a great story and CTC have come up with an excellent version of it.

The cast led by Eddy Holland as Winston Smith, do a great job. Stand out performers for my mind, were Vicki Russell as Landlady, David Watson as Guard# 1, and tony Morton as O’Brien.

Vicki Russell is hilarious as an old woman. David Watson a mixture of scary and comical as an evil, John-Lennon-looking guard. And Tony Morton’s O’Brien is a posh, power-tripping psycho.

Eddy Holland and Tiffany Lane (who plays Winston’s lover Julia) are especially good in the second half of the play when things get very uncomfortable for their characters.

Indeed the scenes of Winston’s‘re-education’ are confronting and suspenseful.

The early scenes where Winston, Syme (Phillip McDonald), and Parsons (Laura Hall) are at work in the Ministry of Truth, being extremely paranoid while trying to be good party members, are engaging and comical.

The ridiculousness of the ideas of Big Brother and the part – two plus two equals five, for instance – are, in the first half, amusing.

In the second half these things get a lot darker.

The sound (by Scott Saunders) works well throughout. The announcements and their accompanying ‘warning sound’ do create the sense that the characters are on edge. The sounds that go with the uncomfortable scenes add an important aspect to the horror.

The set and costumes were professionally done and I took special note of the creepy ‘face’ of Big Brother (possibly an amalgam of Tiger Woods, Ban Ki-Moon, and Danny Glover?) and the threatening Ingsoc insignia.

Director Kenneth MacLeod has delivered an artistically consistent and interesting play.

Everyone who is old enough should see CTC’s production. It’s a well-done version of a great story and it gets you thinking. It got me thinking of North Korea and gave me a feeling of relief about circumstances of my own life.

As well as being serious it’s a lot of fun.

Phee Broadway Theatre, Mechanics Lane Castlemaine

Friday / Saturdays 26 Nov – 4 Dec 8pm. Sundays 28 Nov & Dec 2pm

Tickets from Hardings Footwear, 174 Barker Street, Castlemaine, 5472 1163, Full $20, Concession $16.

http://castlemainetheatrecompany.com/Site/Whats_On.html For more information

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